Epistemological beliefs of students and teachers about the nature of science: from ‘baconian inductive ascent’ to the ‘irrelevance’ of scientific laws

The main objectives of this study are to: (a) to investigate students' and teachers' beliefs about the nature of science; (b) to explore the relationship among the students' and teachers' beliefs; and (c) to carry out a rational reconstruction of students' and teachers' beliefs based on a Lakatosian perspective of the history and philosophy of science. Eighty-nine freshman students and 7 chemistry teachers at the Instituto Universitario de Tecnología, El Tigre (Venezuela) were asked to respond to a 4-item questionnaire. Students' and teachers' responses were classified as positivist, transitional or Lakatosian. Most of the students and teachers responded with a very similar positivist approach. Epistemological beliefs of students and teachers in this study can be summarized as follows: a scientific theory has not been proved in its totality, whereas a scientific law has not only been proved, but is also universal, and furthermore, a theory tells us about more complex and explicit things. In view of the Lakatosian interpretation that the conflict is not between theories and laws, but rather between an interpretative and an explanatory theory, it is concluded that science teachers reconsider the dichotomous presentation of scientific progress found in most text books, in terms of theories and laws.     

程颐的政治理论

程颐的政治思想继承了孟子和孔子的政治论,程颐试图使他们的政治思想与自己的理气论相适应。他依据自己“天理”的本体论观念把“仁政”和”礼国”提高到一个普遍的政治模式。程颐的政治思想除了重视政治的原则和实践的方面以外,还依据诚论提出一种政治性的工夫论来表现政治的形而上学的起源和作用,“立志”、“正心”、“诚意”、“敬”、“修身”都是程颐政治性的工夫论。     

Ethical Challenges of the Information Society in the 21st Century

The paper deals with theoretical and practical challenges of the information society in the 21st century. In the first part an overview of past and current activities in the field of information ethics at UNESCO is provided (Virtual Forum, Second International Congress on Information Ethics, Observatory on the information Society). The second part presents a historical interpretation of the development of modern information society with the emerging networked world society with its characteristics of interactivity and decentralization. The diversity of moral norms and traditions within this global medium gives rise to the question concerning an Internet-morality as a challenge to ethical thinking. The third part deals with the question of our identity within the framework of a digital ontology. The concepts of “net” and “information” are analysed. A future information ethics is based on a digital ontology. Living in the information age is considered from the point of view of both an ethical imperative and the art of living.